Cloth bale



Nov. 7, 1939. H, M SIDES 2,179,303

CLOTH BALE Filed June 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l amen bop. HILL/A RD M. 51055 mtmw H. M SIDES CLOTH BALE Nov. 7, 1939.

Filed June 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Svwcnoo; HILL/RED M 51055 Patented Nov. 7, 1939 nm'rsors'mrss entrant Qttifih I d L 2,179,303 Y oLoTH BALE v i Hilliard M. siaes, Greenville, s. o.

ApplicationJunc 2, 1937, Serial No. 145,939

This invention. relates to a means for packaging bolts of cloth and the like, wherein a plurality of bolts .are placed in a superimposed. positionupon'one another and pressure is applied thereto after which a fastening means is secured around the entire assembly. It is necessary to package or bale. bolts of cloth in this manner so that a greater numbermay be shipped as a unit. Heretofore the means for securing the overlapped ends of the straps which were bound around the packages has caused a great difficulty in this particular field. In order to have the most satisfactoryties around the bales,

it is desirable that only a short end of the over lapping strap at the fastening point be exposed on the outside of the bale but it is also desirable that a certain amount of slippage be available if for any reason the back pressure should exceed a predetermined amount.

I-Ieretofore it has been necessary to use tools for fastening the two ends together so that they may remain in the proper: position relative to the fastener. This practice has, in a large measure, been found xunsatisfactory either because of its failure to. provide the proper slip-. page when a predeterminedxstress has been attained or because it. required. a complicatedrexa bale of cloth, said means having a slot near one endthereof through which these overlapped ends are adapted to pass andthe other end of saidfastener being disposed beneath the overlapped portions and held thereagainst by virtue of the back pressure in thebale around which the tie is wrapped- The slot in the fastening means is of such dimensions that when the long end of the fastener is pressed upwardly against the tieby the material in the bale, both of the overlappedportions will be bent bythe edges of the slot, thereby creating an added frictional resistance between the overlapped portions. However it should be stated that this added friction is not sufficient to cause one of the ends On the,

to break before relative slippage occurs. contrary the overlapped end which is disposed near the material will beallowed to slip, whereas the top or outer overlapped portion Will remainl stationary. This result is caused primarily due to the location of the fasteningmeans.

It is a further objectof thisinventionto .pro-

yide a fastening r means of the classdescribed l2 therebetween.

which is are shaped and isadapted to be located near one corner of the bale so that the back pressure in the material will at all timesforce the long end of the fastener against the lower side of overlapped end of the strap. By 10- cating the fastener at the corner of the bale the top overlapped end will be held very much tighter by the fastener than the lower overlapped end since there is a greater bend in this end at or about the fastener. This produces a very desirable result because it will enable one to make the outer end very much shorter than theinner' end and thereby eliminate a long exposed end which will engage articles with whichthe bale single bale with myirnproved fastening means applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a sectional vieW taken along the line 22 in Figure 1, but showing the ends of the bolts ofrcloth and elevation; l

Figure 3 is an isometric view of the bale of coth shown in Figures 1 and 2 after the pres sure has been relieved therefrom;

Figure l is an enlarged detail View taken along portions of the press in the line i 1' in Figure 3 showing the fastening means'in the position it occupies relative to the overlapped ends when finally installed;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the fastening. means" with the overlapped ends of a tie inserted therethrough; a t

Figure 6 is a sectional view through the fastening means showing the overlapped ends placed therethrough prior to rotating the fastening means to operative position as'shown in Figure 4, and l a Figure l is'an inverted isometricview of the fastening means. a

Referring more specifically to the drawings the numeral it denotes the base of a suitable bale press which has spaced slats H placed thereon, thereby providing open spaces or slots llhe base member has upwardly extending posts it which support head portion M of the press. Slidably mounted in this head portion is a vertically disposed stem I5, the lower end of which has a press head "5 secured thereto. This press head is raised and lowered relative to the base portion ID by means of a transverse rod I! which is rotatably mounted in stem l5 and which has threadably secured around each end thereof collars I8 and I9. These collars have links 20 and 2| secured thereto, said links having their other ends secured to the portion l4. Similar links 22 and 23 are secured to the head portion l6 and to collars l8 and IS. The shaft I1 is rotated by a suitable source of power, not shown, which is connected to sprocket wheel 24 to cause the collars l8 and I9 to be moved away from each other, or toward each other, depending upon the direction of rotation. This movement, will in turn raise or lower the head It. The parts thus far described are conventional, but it is deemed necessary to show this conventional structure in order to show the preferred method of using my invention.

A plurality of bolts of cloth 2! are stacked upon the slats ll. After the assembly is ready to be baled together the press head I6 is lowered to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2. It will be noted that the press head l6 has slats 28 secured to the lower side thereof which are spaced apart from each other so as to provide slots 29. In the spaces or slots 29 and I2 suitable bale ties 30 are inserted and around the entire assembly. Then the ends of the ties are overlapped and a suitable fastener 3| is used to fasten these ends together at one of the corners of the bale in the manner shown in Figures 2 to 6 inclusive.

The fastener 3| has a slot 32 in one end thereof Whose longer dimension is substantially the same as the width of the ties and whose shortest dimension is considerably greater than the combined thicknesses of the two overlapped ends of the tie. When the desired pressure is applied to the bolts 21 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the ends of the ties are overlapped as shown in Figure 6 and inserted in the slot 32. Then the long armate shaped end 33 of the fastener is rotated in a clockwise manner from the position as shown in Figure 6 until the top side thereof engages the lower side of one of the overlapped ends of the ties. When the pressure is released from the bale :the back pressure in all the bolts of cloth will cause the top bolt 21 to press against the lower arcuate surface of the fastener to hold it in the position as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

One explanation as to why the underneath portion of the tie slips under excessive pressure is the rule of fulcrum weight and power. As Will be noted in Figure 4, at 32, there are two points of contacts, the lower point being on the lower side of the fastener, with the short end of the tie in direct contact with the fastener. On the other hand, the upper point of contact is on the top or outside of the fastener. Now, note the difference in distance between lower point of contact and tail 33 and the upper point of contact and tail 33. Therefore, from a leverage or fulcrum standpoint, the difference in distance between these points of contact and the tail 33 is suflicient to give the lower point of contact a firmer grip than the upper point of contact, which produces the desired results and causes the end of the tie which is disposed along the edges of the bolts and is disposed beneath the other end where they pass through the fastener to do the slipping to relieve excess pressure.

Another explanation as to why the long end of the tie does the slipping, is because that portion which extends across the top of the bale in Figure 3 has frictional contact with the bale which prevents its slipping, while the portion which extends along the vertical side of the bale in Figure 3 does not have as much frictional contact with the bale except at its end portion. In any event, actual use, shows that the long end of the tie 30 does the slipping in the fastener to relieve excess back pressure in the bale.

It is very important that this fastener be located at the corner of the bale because the bolts of cloth 2'! in the bale will vary in sizes thereby causing the widths to vary. If the fastener 3| should be placed at an intermediate portion on the sides of the bale then it would be necessary to make the ends 33 sufficiently long as to insure that this end would at all times engage the side of a protruding bolt of cloth and be held against the inner side of the tie. Otherwise if a low place in the bale should be encountered by the end of a fastener, the fastener would not be held against the tie and consequently the friction produced between the overlapped ends when they pass through the slot would not be sufficient to hold thetwo ends together.

It should be further noted that with my improved type of fastener it is not necessary to use tools for inserting the same in position, neither is it necessary to provide collars or other additional means for maintaining it in position. When it has once been installed the outward pressure exerted by the bale will automatically keep the'long end of the fastener in a parallel position to the overlapped ends of the tie. Furthermore it is a one piece fastening means with the slot so cut therein that the stress necessary to overcome the friction produced between the overlapped ends will be slightly less than the breaking point of the tie thereby insuring that the long end will slip before the back pressure in the bale breaks the tie.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in th appended claims.

I claim:

1. A cloth bale comprising a plurality of bolts of cloth stacked one upon the other, a piece of bale tie passed around the bale and having its ends disposed in overlapping relation where the top and one side of the bale meet, a fastener curved to fit the corner of the cloth bale and having a transverse eye through one end thereof which is substantially twice as wide as the thickness of the two overlapped ends of the bale tie, the end of the bale tie which passes along one side of the bale passing through said eye and projecting over a portion of the top of the bale, and the end of the bale tie which passes over the top of the bale passing through said eye on the outside of the other end of the bale tie, the back pressure in the bale serving to press said other end of the bale tie against the inner portion of said overlapping ends to hold the fastener in position to bend the ends of the bale tie where they penetrate said slot, and the gentle curve in the ends of the bale tie permitting slippage of the first-named end when the back pressure exerted by the bale exceeds a predetermined amount.

2. A bale of cloth bolts having a piece of bale tie therearound with its ends disposed in overlapping relation at one corner of the bale when viewed in cross-section, a curved fastener coinprising a member having a transversely disposed slot at one end through which both of said ends are passed in overlapping relation, said fastener also having a tail projecting along the top of the bale and provided with an outer convex surface whereby the back pressure in the bale will press said tail against the lower surface of said bale tie and bend the overlapping portions Where they pass through said slot, the slot being much wider than the combined thickness of the two ends of the bale tie passed therethrough, thus imparting a gentle curve to the bale tie ends where they pass through the slot to allow slippage of the nether end when the back pressure in the bale exceeds a predetermined amount.

3. In combination, a plurality of bolts of cloth which are wider than they are high and are stacked on their flat sides one above the other, a curved fastener disposed at the outer edge of the topmost bale and having a transversely disposed slot through one end and having a tail on its other end, a piece of bale tie adapted to be passed around the bale and to have its ends passed through said slot in overlapping relation and having a longer end and a shorter end, the longer end of said overlapping portion extending along the top of the bale and beneath the other overlapping end, so that the back pressure in the bale will force said tail against the lower surface of the lower overlapping end and will bend the overlapping ends at the point where they pass through said slot, said slot being at least twice as wide as the combined thickness of the overlapping ends of the bale tie to impart a pair of gentle curves to each of said overlapping ends where they pass through said slot thus allowing the nether overlapping end of the bale tie to slip in said eye when outward pressure of the bale tie exceeds a predetermined amount, said bale tie having an outer convex surface.

4:. In combination, a plurality of bolts of cloth which are wider than they are high and are stacked on their fiat sides one above the other, a fastener curved to fit and disposed at the outer edge of the topmost bale of cloth and having a transversely disposed slot through one end and having a tail on its other end, a bale tie adapted to be passed around the bolts of cloth and having its ends passed through said slot in over-lapping relation and having a longer end and a shorter end, said slot being substantially wider than the combined thickness of the two ends of the bale tie which are passed therethrough so that a pair of gentle curves may be produced in the bale tie ends by the back pressure in the bale to allow slippage oi the nether end of the bale tie before the breaking point is reached in the bale tie where they pass through said slot, the longer end of said overlapping portions of the bale tie extending along the top of the bale beneath the other overlapping end, so that the back pressure in the bale will force said tail against the lower surface of the lower overlapping end and will gently bend the overlapping ends at the point Where they pass through said slot, whereby ex cessive back pressure will cause the nether overlapping portion to slide relative to the slide and to the other end of the bale tie without any slippage occurring in the outer portion of said bale tie.

I-lILLIARD M. SIDES. 

